About 2.15 million foreign
tourists visited Vietnam in the first seven months of
this year, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent, the
Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VAT) reported.

Though
visitors from the US and Asia still accounted for a
large proportion of the figure, the number of European
tourists increased, while Chinese tourists have decreased.

The
VAT further said air arrivals accounted for 70 percent
of the visitors, while fewer arrived by land routes.

As
many as 58 percent of foreign arrivals to the country
were for tourism purposes.

The
tourism sector expects to attract a large number of
foreign visitors to Vietnam in the last months of this
year with major events in the framework of the Quang
Nam National Tourism Year 2006 and the APEC Economic
Leaders' Meeting.